Up here in Alaska I had a few experiences using solar powered remote
communication systems. I worked a couple years for the BLM Wildfire
Center (Fairbanks) radio shop and we had some 5w GE repeaters
installed in big fiberglass boxes with a square solar panel attached
to the cover. We would
Panels are rated for a standard sun (1000 W/m^2 insolation) at I think
25C. This is for the maximum power point, which is almost never the
voltage to charge the battery at. The ones I've played with (powerfilm
5W, HQRP 20W) do more or less make their rated power in full sun (really
blue sky),
I suspect you're going to have to reinvent at least some of the wheel. I
have a 10-watt panel I got several years ago and have used to power a K2 at
several Field Days. It generates 0.5 amps at up to 20 volts in strong
sunlight. Lower light intensity reduces the voltage but the amps stay
From personal experience with the KX3 and solar panels, a 10 watt panel
simply won't keep up. A 20 watt panel is fine on a bright sunny day if you
shift its position and angle several times during the day. But I now use a
30 watt folding panel which has been adequate even on slightly overcast
I'm using two solar setups. One is a 100W system for the K3 and KX3 /
ham station generally. That's probably not going to interest anyone
for portable ops with the KX3.
Five or so years ago, I bought 80 4.5-inch wafers from a 2nd tier
outfit in New England. From these, I built two panels that
The key here is a good charge controller. I use a mppt controller and it is
98 % efficient. Gets 30% for charge. Has 3 different charge rates and
handles all battery types.
My RV is also wind turbine and solar powered. I have 560 watt solar to my
mppt charger, then to my 900 amp hr battery bank.
I agree re the charge controller. I use a kit-built one from CirKits.
Model: SCC3. It is uber-RF-quiet being a linear cc, and can handle
20A.
73,
matt W6NIA
On Fri, 19 Apr 2013 10:30:57 -0500, you wrote:
The key here is a good charge controller. I use a mppt controller and it is
98 %
MPPT Controllers (small capacity) are few and far between and expensive.
Several are actually PWM, are falsely marketed as MPPT, making the
situation complicated. A MPPT controller can produce about 30% more power
from a given solar panel during the summer months and about 10% more during
the
I have two solar panels mounted together that I got, along with
a 36AH SLA battery for running our Colman camp cooler (5A draw)
on road trips. The panels together supply about 7.5A at 12-18V
and will fit on the roof rack of our 4Runner. I also have a made
in China charge controller for the
A side note for those attending Dayton. There has been a company that
manufactures solar panels for the government at Dayton the last couple of
years. They sell blemished panels that are used as panels in tents for
power that would work perfectly for the KX3. I've got two of them and use
them
Rather than reinvent the wheel, does anybody have experience or suggestions for
a small solar array sufficient to keep a KX3 with internal batteries going
during daylight? I would assume 10 watts average over a reasonable TX duty
cycle would be enough.? Something strong enough or flexible
@mailman.qth.net
Subject: [Elecraft] Solar Power for KX3
Rather than reinvent the wheel, does anybody have experience or suggestions
for a small solar array sufficient to keep a KX3 with internal batteries
going during daylight? I would assume 10 watts average over a reasonable TX
duty cycle would be enough
This Fred will second the other Fred. My engineering team designed a
solar system for 4 repeater stations for a pipeline communications
system in S. Africa. It was hugely overdesigned, we had to to meet the
contract specs. In full sun, it made over 200A, way more than the wet
glass
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